This case study examined changes in body composition, resting metabolic rate (RMR), aerobic capacity, and daily physical activity in a patient who had ulcerative colitis who underwent ileal pouch‒anal anastomosis (IPAA) surgery. Body composition, RMR, and VO2 peak were assessed prior to, 4, 8, and 16 weeks after IPAA surgery. Daily physical activity data was extracted from a wrist-worn activity tracker preoperatively and 16 months postoperatively. At baseline, total body mass was 95.3 kg; body fat, 11.6 %; lean body mass, 81.1 kg; RMR, 2,416 kcal/d; and V̇O2peak, 42.7 mL/kg/min. All values decreased from baseline at 4 weeks postoperatively, body mass was 85.2 kg (-10.5%); body fat, 10.9% (-6.0%); lean body mass, 73.1 kg (-9.9%); RMR 2,210 kcal/d (-8.5%) and V̇O2peak, 25.5 mL/kg/min (-40.3%). At 16 weeks postoperatively, most parameters were near their baseline levels (within 1%-7%); exceptions were V̇O2peak, which was 20.4% below baseline, and RMR, which increased to nearly 20% above baseline. After the patient had an IPAA surgery, his total and lean body masses, RMR, and aerobic capacity were markedly decreased. Daily physical activity decreased postoperatively and likely contributed to the decreased aerobic capacity, which may take longer to recover compared to body composition and RMR parameters.

Space missions have always assumed that the risk of spacecraft malfunction far outweighs the risk of human system failure. This assumption breaks down for longer duration exploration missions and exposes vulnerabilities in space medical system. Space agencies can no longer buy down the majority of human system risk through the crew member selection process and emergency re-supply or evacuation. No mature medical solutions exist to close the risk gap. With recent advances in biotechnology, there is promise in augmenting a space pharmacy with a biologically-based space foundry for on-demand manufacturing of high-value medical products. Here we review the challenges and opportunities of molecular pharming, the production of pharmaceuticals in plants, as the basis of a space medical foundry to close the risk gap in current space medical systems. Plants have long been considered an important life support object in space and can now also be viewed as programmable factories in space. Advances in molecular pharming-based space foundries will have widespread application in promoting simple and accessible pharmaceutical manufacturing on Earth.

Phosphodiesterases (PDEs) are the principal superfamily of enzymes responsible for degrading the secondary messengers 3’,5’-cyclic nucleotides cAMP and cGMP. Their refined subcellular localization and substrate specificity contribute to finely regulate cAMP/cGMP gradients in various cellular microdomains. Redistribution of multiple signal compartmentalization components is often perceived under pathological conditions. Thereby PDEs have long been pursued as therapeutic targets in diverse disease conditions including neurological, metabolic, cancer and autoimmune disorders in addition to numerous cardiovascular diseases. PDE2 is a unique member of the broad family of PDEs. In addition to its capability to hydrolyze both cAMP and cGMP, PDE2 is the sole isoform that may be allosterically activated by cGMP increasing its cAMP hydrolyzing activity. Within the cardiovascular system, PDE2 serves as an integral regulator for the crosstalk between cAMP/cGMP pathways and thereby may couple chronically adverse augmented cAMP signalling with cardioprotective cGMP signalling. This review provides a comprehensive overview of PDE2 regulatory functions in multiple cellular components within the cardiovascular system and also within various subcellular microdomains. Implications for PDE2 mediated crosstalk mechanisms in diverse cardiovascular pathologies are discussed highlighting the prospective use of PDE2 as a potential therapeutic target in cardiovascular disorders.

Recent studies supported a clinical association between Parkinson’s Disease (PD) and periodontitis. Hence, investigating possible protein interactions between these two conditions is of interest. In this study, we conducted a protein-protein network interaction analysis with recognized genes encoding proteins for PD and periodontitis. Genes of interest were collected via GWAS database. Then, we conducted a protein interaction analysis using STRING database, with a highest confidence cut-off of 0.9. Our protein network casted a comprehensive analysis of potential protein-protein interactions between PD and periodontitis. This analysis may underpin valuable information for new candidate molecular mechanisms between PD and periodontitis and may serve new potential targets for research purposes. These results should be carefully interpreted giving the limitations of this approach.

The study of complex systems deals with emergent behaviour that arises as a result of nonlinear spatio-temporal interactions between a large number of components both within the system, as well as between the system and its environment. There is a strong case to be made that neural systems as well as their emergent behaviour and disorders, can be studied within the framework of complexity science. In particular, the field of neuroimaging has begun to apply both theoretical and experimental procedures originating in complexity science – usually in parallel with traditional methodologies. Here, we demonstrate that the use of such traditional models may distort the outcomes of neuroimaging experiments – hence affecting their interpretability and raising questions about their reliability.Therefore, we argue in favor of adopting a complex systems-based methodology in the study of neuroimaging, alongside appropriate experimental paradigms, and with minimal influences from non-complex systems approaches. Our exposition includes a review of the fundamental mathematical concepts, combined with practical examples and a compilation of results from the literature.

Climate change-induced events amplify existing social, political, economic, infrastructural and environmental concerns in many Global South cities, and perhaps no city is more vulnerable than Bangladesh’s capital of Dhaka. Climate-induced rural-urban migration is a profound concern, and Dhaka’s political leaders have embraced technology-based innovation as a solution pathway. This article explores the societal impact of Dhaka’s innovation environment strategies for climate change adaptation and mitigation. Employing a case study qualitative methodology, our three findings expand knowledge about innovation-urban climate mitigation as understood by Dhaka-based entrepreneurs: First, the most effective innovations were not the most technologically advanced, but those with the highest degree of participant ownership. Second, gaps between recipient, corporate and governmental understandings of effective mitigation and adaptation harmed projects, and were driven by different definitions of risk and competing understandings of vulnerability. Third, even the most technical climate adaptation measures were inherently political in their application. We discuss how to better position urban climate innovation infrastructures in Bangladesh and beyond, including developing a better recognition of innovation lifecycles for urban climate adaptation and widening our definitions of ‘innovation’ to better incorporate more effective and inclusive climate adaptation solutions.

Approaches to identification of metabolites have progressed from early biochemical pathway evaluation to modern high dimensional metabolomics which is a powerful tool to identify and characterize biomarkers of health and disease. While traditionally considered relevant in the context of classic metabolic diseases, immunometabolism has emerged as an important area of study as leukocytes generate key metabolites important to innate and adaptive immunity. Herein we discuss the metabolomic signatures and pathways perturbed during infection as well as vaccination. For example, changes in lipid and amino acid pathways (e.g., tryptophan, serine, and threonine) have been noted during infection while carbohydrate and bile acid pathways have shift upon vaccination. Metabolomics holds substantial promise to provide fresh insight into the molecular mechanisms underlying host response to infection and vaccination, and its integration with other systems biology platforms will add further impact to our studies of health and disease.

In this paper, we consider a new class of polynomials which is called the multi-poly-Euler polynomials. Then, we investigate their some properties and relations. We provide that the type 2 degenerate multi-poly-Euler polynomials equals a linear combination of the degenerate Euler polynomials of higher order and the degenerate Stirling numbers of the first kind. Moreover, we provide an addition formula and a derivative formula. Furthermore, in a special case, we acquire a correlation between the type 2 degenerate multi-poly-Euler polynomials and degenerate Whitney numbers.

Inflammation is an essential protective response against injury or infection. Physiological inflammation eliminates the pathogen, promotes tissue repair and healing. An exaggerated, out of control inflammation, however, can become pathological. Inflammation can generate secondary cell damage, inflame the vessels (endothelitis), activate coagulation processes. Among these pathogenetic factors (cell damage, inflammation, endothelitis, coagulopathies), self-amplification mechanisms can be created, spreading beyond the initial site, up to Multiple Organ Failure (MOF) and host death. If the inflammation does not resolve in a physiological way, the remodeling of the tissues can be maladaptive and lead to the onset of chronic inflammatory degenerative diseases. Diseases such as sepsis, burns, polytrauma, severe forms of influenza or COVID-19, are characterized by a condition of hyperinflammation, associated with a condition of immunosuppression. The initial events triggered by the pathogen (cell damage, interferon response in the case of viruses) ignite the inflammation by activating the inflammasome, the transcription factor NFkB, the release of pro-inflammatory eicosanoids (Prostaglandins, Leukotrienes, Thromboxanes) by neutrophils and macrophages. Hence, the cells of the innate immune system produce pro-inflammatory cytokines. Indeed, the ‘’eicosanoid storm’’ precedes the ‘’cytokine storm’’. Eicosanoids are a group of potent endogenous lipid mediators derived from omega-6 fatty acids Arachidonic Acid (AA). Eicosanoids include a group of molecules with pro-inflammatory (Prostaglandins, Leukotriens) and pro-coagulant (Thromboxanes) action. In addition, Arachidonic Acid (AA) is the source of Lipoxins (LXs). Lipoxins belong to a group of molecules collectively referred to as specialized pro-solving mediators (SPMs) which also include molecules derived from w-3 eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA): Resolvins (ReV-E sieres) and w-3 docohexanoic (DHA): Resolvins D-series (ReV D-series); Protectins (PTs); Maresins (MaRs). SPMs are important for the resolution phase of inflammation to take place properly. Their deficiency could be involved in both acute uncontrolled inflammation and chronic inflammation. The active regulation of the acute inflammatory process, integrating the precursors of Specialized Pro-resolving Mediators (SPMs), such as ⍵-6 and ⍵-3 in balanced ratio, or the SPMs themselves, could be a complementary therapeutic approach useful for taming the "storm of cytokines '' which characterizes exaggerated forms of inflammation. ⍵-3 and ⍵-6 are part of already widely used, readily available, inexpensive and safe supplements. Resolvins have already been included in clinical trials for various other inflammatory diseases (eye diseases, periodontal diseases).

Miller Fisher Syndrome (MFS) is a rare variant of Guillain-Barré Syndrome (GBS). It is largely a clinical diagnosis based on the classical features of ataxia, areflexia, and opthalmoplegia. Its clinical evolution is most often favorable. However, other neurological signs and symptoms may also be present. Supportive laboratory studies (positivity of antibodies, CSF albumin-cytological dissociation and nerve conduction studies) are useful especially in uncommon presentations. We report a case of a 74-year-old patient who exhibited dysphonia and difficulty to swallowing previously to the classic triad of ataxia, areflexia, and opthalmoplegia, characteristic of MFS. CSF analysis demonstrates an albumin-cytological dissociation but anti-GQ1b antibody were negative. The patient has spontaneously and completely recovered after several weeks.

Diversity as well as temporal and spatial changes of the proportional abundances of different antibiotics (cycling, mixing or combinations thereof) have been hypothesised to be an effective administrative control strategy in hospitals to reduce the prevalence of antibiotic-resistant pathogens in nosocomial or community-acquired infections. However, a rigorous assessment of the efficacy of these control strategies is lacking. The main purpose here is to present a mathematical framework for the assessment of control stategies from a processual stance. To this end, we adopt diverse measures of heterogeneity and diversity of proportional abundances based on the concept of entropy from other fields and adapt them to the needs in assessing the impact of variations in antibiotic consumption on antibiotic resistance. Thereby, we derive a family of diversity measures whose members exhibit different degrees of complexity. Most important, we extent these measures such that they account for the assessment of temporal changes in heterogeneity including otherwise undetected diversity-invariant permutations of antibiotics consumption and prevalence of resistant pathogens. We apply a correlation analysis for the assessment of associations between changes of heterogeneities on the antibiotics and on the pathogen side. As a showcase, which serves as a proof-of-principle, we apply the derived methods to records of antibiotic consumption and prevalence of antibiotic-resistant germs from University Hospital Dresden. Besides the quantification of heterogeneities of antibiotics consumption and antibiotic resistance, we show that a reduction of prevalence of antibiotic-resistant germs correlates with a temporal change of similarity with respect to the first observation of antibiotics consumption, although heterogeneity remains approximately constant. Although an interventional study is pending, our mathematical framework turns out to be a viable concept for the assessment and optimisation of control strategies intended to reduce antibiotic resistance.

YH-DIE must have continuity . Given the basic algebraic clusters of homogeneous configurations,we can get the basic three equations: \begin{array}{l} {\mathop{\int}\nolimits_{0}\nolimits^{{x}_{i}}{\frac{{G}\left({{x}_{i}\mathrm{,}s}\right)}{{\left({{x}_{i}\mathrm{{-}}{s}}\right)}^{\mathit{\alpha}}}\mathrm{\varphi}\left({s}\right){ds}}\mathrm{{=}}{f}\left({{x}_{i}}\right)}\ ;\ {\frac{\mathrm{\partial}}{\mathrm{\partial}{x}_{i}}\left({\frac{{\mathrm{\partial}}_{{x}_{i}}G}{\sqrt{{1}\mathrm{{+}}{\left|{\mathrm{\nabla}{G}}\right|}^{2}}}}\right)\mathrm{{=}}{0}}\ ;\ {{i}\mathrm{{=}}\mathop{\sum}\limits_{{x}_{i}\mathrm{{=}}{1}}\limits^{\mathrm{\infty}}{\arccos\hspace{0.33em}\mathrm{\varphi}\left({{x}_{i}}\right)}\mathrm{{=}}{f}\left({\fbox{${Yuh}$}}\right)} \end{array} YH-DIE has become a fusion point and access point in the fields of algebraic geometry and partial differential equations, and its mapping on multidimensional algebraic clusters or manifolds is very special. The minimal surface equation is a special case.

Transcriptional regulations have been widely studied as one of the main bridges between biology and other basic sciences as well as medicine. The traffic across it has been mostly unidirectional: chemistry and physics provided a lot of tools for biology, although the supply is now saturating. The traffic in opposite direction, the supply of subjects to develop chemistry and physics, has been only a little. However, if there are any, the supply will be at least from transcription, because the notion of chemical reaction is the strongest. This topic is aimed to increase the opposite traffic by introducing the forefront of physicochemical studies of transcription.

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA); is a chronic systemic autoimmune disease which causes loss of joint function and significantly reduces quality of life. Plasma metabolite concentrations of disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs) can influence treatment efficacy and toxicity. This study explored the relationship between DMARD metabolising gene variants and plasma metabolite levels in RA patients. DMARD metabolite concentrations were determined by tandem mass-spectrometry in plasma samples from 100 RA patients with actively flaring disease, collected at two intervals. Taqman-probes were used to discriminate single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) genotypes in cohort genomic DNA: rs246240 (ABCC1), rs1476413 (MTHFR), rs2231142 (ABCG2), rs3740065 (ABCC2), rs4149081 (SLCO1B1), rs4846051 (MTHFR), rs10280623 (ABCB1), rs16853826 (ATIC), rs17421511 (MTHFR) and rs717620 (ABCC2). Mean plasma concentrations of methotrexate (MTX) and MTX-7-OH metabolites were higher (p<0.05, C.I. 95%) at baseline in rs4149081 GA genotype patients. Patients with rs1476413 SNP TT or CT alleles in the have significantly higher (p<0.001, 95% C.I) plasma poly-glutamate metabolites at both study time points and correspondingly elevated disease activity scores. Patients with the rs17421511 SNP AA allele reported significantly lower pain scores (p<0.05, 95% C.I.) at both study intervals. Genotyping strategies could help prioritise treatments to RA patients most likely to gain clinical benefit, whilst minimizing toxicity.

Bio-surfactants are surface-active molecules which are produced by the wide range of microbes including bacteria, fungi, and yeast. This study was conducted to identify bio-surfactants by Bacillus subtilis combined with use of cheap substrates and industrial wastes (Mustard cake, Whey and Soya cake) which are found locally in Nepal. Bacillus subtilis, one of the most potential bio-surfactants producer; was isolated from soil sample of hydrocarbon contaminated site. Isolates were grown in a Minimal Salt Media (MSM) with 10% (v/v) mustard oil cake, whey and soya cake separately. The presence and potential of surfactant was determined by the oil spreading technique, emulsification index (%E24) and surface tension measurement. It was revealed that the surface tensions of cell free extract were 54.41, 60.02 and 56.64 mN/m for from mustard cake, whey and soya cake respectively as compared to distilled water (72.09) at 25oC. The emulsification index values are was found to be highest in engine oil from the bio-surfactant extracted from mustard cake, soya cake and whey respectively. Similarly, mustard oil showed the lowest value of emulsification index. The highest emulsification activity was shown in mustard oil i.e. 1.13 from the cell free extract from mustard oil and lowest in engine oil i.e., 0.07, by the extract from soya cake medium, when measured in spectrophotometer at 540 nm. In conclusion, strain of Bacillus subtilis was found to be the potential surface active agent producers on the mustard oil cake, which can be useful medium for various environmental, food and industrial processes.

Ammonia (NH3), the most prevalent alkaline gas in the atmosphere, plays a significant role in PM2.5 formation, atmospheric chemistry, and new particle formation. This paper reviews quantification of [NH3] through measurements, satellite-remote-sensing, and modeling reported in over 500 publications towards synthesizing current knowledge of [NH3], focusing on spatiotemporal variations, controlling processes, and quantification issues. Most measurements are through regional passive sampler networks. [NH3] hotspots are typically over agricultural regions like the Midwest US and North China Plain, with elevated concentrations reaching monthly averages of 20 and 74 ppbv, respectively. Topographical effects dramatically increase [NH3] over the Indo-Gangetic Plains, North India and San Joaquin Valley, US. Measurements are sparse over oceans, where [NH3] ≈ few tens of ppbv, variations of which can affect aerosol formation. Satellite-remote-sensing (AIRS, CrIS, IASI, TANSO-FTS, TES) provides global [NH3] quantification in the column and at surface since 2002. Modeling is crucial for improving understanding of NH3 chemistry and transport, its spatiotemporal variations, source apportionment, exploring physicochemical mechanisms, and predicting future scenarios. GEOS-Chem (global) and FRAME (UK) models are commonly applied for this. A synergistic approach of measurements↔satellite-inference↔modeling is needed towards improved understanding of atmospheric ammonia, of concern from the standpoint of human health and the ecosystem.

This article aims to review the screening and diagnostic tools for eating disorders (ED). Eating disorders represent a complex pathology defined by an imbalance between hunger and satiety, installed in an emotional, traumatic, or conflictive context. Recently, the emphasis regarding ED is focused on the link between genetics, mental pathology, and the somatic and metabolic phenotype and early detection. Early detection and intervention can assure a better recovery and can improve a lot the quality of life of these patients. Methods: We selected ten articles of central importance on the topic in a systematic search on eight databases, articles selected on the type of scales, and size of the study. Results: We identified eight questionnaire scales used in large trials in ED disorders in the scanned literature, choose because we consider it the most accurate and the ones that evaluate best the pathology and the elements that are important as specific traits in ED. There are interview-type scales and self-administered scales. Interview scales are characterized by assessments of symptoms and diagnosis, while self-administered assess particular traits and the possibility of further development of eating disorders. The majority of the scales evaluated were described and used in adult populations. From all the scales assessed and analyzed, only three are described at the child population – it is EAT-26 (> 16 years), EDI-3 (>13 years), and ANSOCQ (> 13 years). Conclusions: It is essential to develop specific scales for people under 18 years of age, given the increasing incidence of ED among children and the need for early detection and appropriate intervention. Early detection of ED in children implies a simple and accurate evaluation at the primary care level or in schools, as the course of the disease can be subclinical for several years. Moreover, the need for accurate scales and telemedicine testing and diagnosis is of high importance during the COVID-19 pandemic as youth are at particular risk being psychologically affected due to disrupted education and social interactions - at a critical time.

The glioma-associated oncogene (GLI) family consists of GLI1, GLI2, and GLI3 in mammals, and is the effector in the Hedgehog signaling pathway. This family has important roles in the development and homeostasis of various tissues. To achieve these roles, the GLI family has widespread outputs. GLI activity is therefore strictly regulated at multiple levels, including via post-translational modifications for context-dependent GLI target gene expression. Conversely, dysregulated GLI activation has strong links with a variety of cancers. The protein arginine methyl transferase (PRMT) family is also associated with embryogenesis, homeostasis, and cancer via epigenetic modifications and signal transduction. In the PRMT family, PRMT1, PRMT5, and PRMT7 reportedly regulate GLI1 and GLI2 activity. PRMT1 methylates GLI1 to upregulate its activity and target gene expression. Cytoplasmic PRMT5 methylates GLI1 and is involved in GLI1 protein stabilization. In contrast, nucleic PRMT5 interacts with MENIN to suppress growth arrest-specific protein 1 expression, which assists Hedgehog ligand binding to Patched, indirectly resulting in downregulated GLI1 activity. PRMT7-mediated GLI2 methylation upregulates its activity through the dissociation of GLI2 and Suppressor of Fused. Therefore, PRMT1, PRMT5, and PRMT7 regulate GLI activity at multiple levels, and PRMT-mediated GLI dysregulation may be involved in cancer formation.

The performance of choice-reaction tasks during athletic movement has been demonstrated to evoke unfavorable lower limb biomechanics. However, the mechanism of this observation is unknown. We conducted a systematic review examining the association between 1) the biomechanical and functional safety of unplanned sports-related movements (e.g. jumps/runs with spontaneously indicated landing leg/cutting direction) and 2) markers of perceptual-cognitive function (PGF). A literature search in three databases (Pubmed, ScienceDirect, Google Scholar) identified five relevant articles. Study quality, rated by means of a modified Downs & Black checklist, was moderate to high (average: 13.5/16 points). Four of five papers, in at least one parameter, found either an association of lower PGF and reduced task safety or significantly reduced task safety in low vs. high PGF performers. Yet, as a) the outcomes, populations and statistical methods of the included trials were highly heterogeneous and b) only two out of five studies had an adequate control condition (pre-planned movement task), evidence was classified as conflicting. In sum, PGF may represent a factor increasing injury risk during unplanned sports-related movements but future research strengthening the evidence of this association is warranted.

In this note, the toy-model of Fourth Generation quarks coupling to Standard Model particles through unknown Lagrangian has been figured. Eventually producing a 103 TeV vector gauge boson, which is a special gauge boson that appears in unification models and here as a mediator for WeakSM4 interaction. Another anomaly of different gauge boson has been reported.

Molecule radiation can be used as a tool to study colder regions in switching arc plasmas like arc fringes in contact to walls and ranges around current zero (CZ). This is demonstrated in the present study for the first time for the case of ablation-dominated high–current arcs as key elements of self–blast circuit breakers. The arc in a model circuit breaker (MCB) in CO2 with and an arc in a long nozzle under ambient conditions with peak currents between 5 and 10 kA were studied by emission and absorption spectroscopy in the visible spectral range. The nozzle material was polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) in both cases. Imaging spectroscopy was carried out either with high-speed cameras or with intensified CCD cameras. A pulsed high-intensity Xe lamp was applied as background radiator for the broad-band absorption spectroscopy. Emission of Swan bands from carbon dimers was observed at the edge of nozzles only or across the whole nozzle radius with highest intensity in the arc center, depending on current and nozzle geometry. Furthermore, absorption of C2 Swan bands and CuF bands were found with the arc plasma serving as background radiator. After CZ, only CuF was detected in absorption experiments.

A well known result for the interference of two single-mode fields is that the degree of coherence and the degree of indistinguishablity are same when we consider the detection of a single photon. In this article we present the relation between degree of coherence, path indistinguishability and the fringe visibility considering interference of multiple number of single-mode fields while being interested in the detection of a single photon only . We will also mention how Born’s rule of interference for multiple sources is reflected in these results.

Thermal interface material (TIM) that can exist as liquid at the service temperature enables efficient heat transfer across two adjacent surfaces in electronic applications. In this work, the thermal conductivities of different phase regions in the Ga-In system at various compositions and temperatures are measured for the first time. A modified comparative cut bar technique is used for the measurement of the thermal conductivities of In_xGa_1-x (x=0, 0.1, 0.214, 0.3, and 0.9) alloys at 40, 60, 80, and 100^oC that are the temperatures commonly encountered in consumer electronics. The thermal conductivity values for the liquid and semi-liquid (liquid+β) Ga-In alloys are higher than the TIM currently used in consumer electronics. These measured quantities, along with the available experimental data from the literature, served as input for the thermal conductivity parameter optimization using the CALPHAD (CALculation of PHase Diagram) method for the pure elements, solution phase, and two-phase region. A set of self-consistent parameters for the description of the thermal conductivity of the Ga-In system is obtained. There is good agreement between the measured and calculated thermal conductivity values for all the phases. Hence, it can be envisaged that liquid/semi-liquid Ga-In alloys can be considered as a potential TIM in consumer electronics due to its high thermal conductivity.

Due to the great nutritional and medicinal value of honey, there has been growing consumer’s preference towards honey of a known identity. However, honey now is the third food in the world subjected to adulteration. Therefore, the current study was focused on judging the identity of Sudanese honeys and checking whether there is any misdesignation from originality. Melissopalynology was used as a tool for this purpose. A number of 60 honey samples were purchased from honey sellers. Results indicated that honey bees foraged on a bio-diversified number of plant species constituted of 11 major families [Fabaceae (43.3%), being the predominant family] and 8 minor families. Respectively, 18.3% &amp; 2% of the honey samples were found to be misdesignated by the honey sellers from their botanical and geographical identities. Some samples were predicted by melissopalynology to be originated from Ethiopia by the presence of marker pollens such as Kniphofia foliosa, Guizotia abyssinica, and Acacia abyssinica an indigenous Ethiopian flora. Thus these findings proved that melissopalynology is an effective tool in judging the identity of honey and pro of being inexpensive.

The newly emerged severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has infected millions of people and caused tremendous morbidity and mortality worldwide. Effective treatment for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) due to SARS-CoV-2 infection is lacking and different therapeutic strategies are under testing. Host humoral and cellular immunity to SARS-CoV-2 infection is a critical determinant for patients’ outcome. SARS-CoV-2 infection results in seroconversion and production of anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies. The antibodies may suppress viral replication through neutralization but also might also participate in COVID-19 pathogenesis through a process termed antibody-dependent enhancement. Rapid progress has been made in the research of antibody response and therapy in COVID-19 patients including characterization of the clinical features of antibody responses in different populations infected by SARS-CoV-2, treatment of COVID-19 patients with convalescent plasma and intravenous immunoglobin products, isolation and characterization of a large panel of monoclonal neutralizing antibodies, as well as preliminary clinical results from several COVID-19 vaccine candidates. In this review, we summarize the recent progress and discuss the implications of these findings in vaccine development.

Mineral identification is an important part of geological analysis. Traditional identification methods rely on either the experiences of the appraisers or the various measuring instruments and the methods are either easily influenced by the experiences or need too much work. To solve the above problems, there have been studies using image recognition and intelligent algorithms to identify minerals. But the current studies can not identify many minerals, and the accuracy is low. To increase the number of identified mineral categories and the accuracy, we proposed the method that uses both the mineral images and the Mohs hardness in the deep neural networks to identify the minerals. The experimental results showed that the method can reach 94.0% Top-1 accuracy and 99.9% Top-5 accuracy for 28 common minerals. The model that combines image and Mohs hardness together can identify more minerals and increase the accuracy using less training data.

The real-world outcomes of patients with metastatic prostate cancer (mPCa) are largely unexplored. We investigated the improvements in overall survival (OS) and cancer-specific survival (CSS) in patients with de novo mPCa in latest years. The USA SEER Research Data (2000-2017) were analyzed using the SEER*Stat software. The Kaplan-Meier method and Cox regression were used. Patients with de novo mPCa were allocated to 3 cohorts based on year of diagnosis: A (2000-2003), B (2004-2010), C (2011-2014). Maximum follow-up was fixed to 5 years. Overall, 26434 patients were included. Age, race and metastatic stage significantly affected OS and CSS. After adjustment for age and race, patients in cohort C showed 9% reduced risk of death (HR:0.91 [95% CI, 0.87-0.95], p&lt;0.001) and 8% reduced risk of cancer-specific death (HR:0.91 [95% CI, 0.87-0.95], p&lt;0.001) compared to those in cohort A. After adjustment for age, race and metastatic stage, patients in cohort C showed an improvement in OS and CSS compared to cohort B (HR:0.94 [95% CI, 0.91-0.97], p=0.001 and HR:0.89 [95% CI, 0.85-0.92], p&lt;0.001). Patients with M1c disease had a more pronounced improvement in OS and CSS compared with the other stages. No differences were found between cohort B and C. In conclusion, the prognosis of de novo mPCa remains poor with a median OS of 30 months and a median CSS of 35 months. Limited OS and CSS improvements were observed in latest years.

In the past decades, Fiber Reinforced Concrete has been gaining more attention in the concrete research development. There are many advantages of the inclusion of fiber into reinforced concrete structures. It was found that the inclusion of fibers in concrete, be it synthetic or natural, resulted in the improvement of the thermal properties of concrete, as well as its strength to some extent. However, the inclusion of fibers in concrete does affects its thermo-mechanical properties. The objective of this study is to identify the potential of the addition Polypropylene and Kenaf fibers in cement mortar at different compositions (0.1%, 0.2%, and 0.3%). Eight mixes were analyzed for this purpose. Upon investigating the flow ability, compressive strength, tensile strength, and thermal conductivity of the mortar samples, it was found that the incorporation of PP and Kenaf fibers reduced the flow ability. Cement mortar samples containing 0.1% addition of PP and Kenaf fibers show the highest compressive strength compared to other percentages, while samples containing 0.3% addition of PP and Kenaf fibers show the highest tensile strength compared to other percentages. The thermal conductivity of mortar samples shows reduction when high percentages of both fibers were used.

The selection of biomaterials for biomedical application is a significant challenge. In the last few decades, various bioabsorbable and stable biopolymers have been applied for use as biomedical devices in orthopedic applications. Ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) has been extensively used in medical implants, notably in the bearings of hip, knee, and other joint prostheses, owing to its biocompatibility and high wear resistance. For the ACL graft, synthetic UHMWPE is an ideal candidate due to its biocompatibility and its extremely high tensile strength. Despite the appeal of new advanced materials such as carbon fiber, poly-ether-ether ketone, and other load-bearing materials, UHMWPE remains a primary load-bearing candidate material for ACL reconstructions because of its extremely high strength, the simplicity of the fabrication process, its biocompatibility, and low friction. However, some significant problems are observed in UHMWPE based implants, such as wear debris, and oxidative degradation due to the generation of free radicals when exposed to irradiation with gamma rays for grafting or sterilization. Various innovative methodologies have been developed to resolve those problems and enhance the properties of UHMWPE. In this review, we will explore in detail the methods for surface functionalization of UHMWPE and will apply these findings to the case study of UHMWPE for Anterior Cruciate Ligament repair.

Background: Over the past decade, the use of digital tools has grown and research evidence suggests that traditional media and new media offer both benefits and health risks for young children. The abilities to understand and use language represent two of the most important competencies developed during the first 3 years of life through the interaction of the child with people, objects, events, and other environmental factors. The main goal of our study is to evaluate the relationship between digital devices use and language abilities in children between 8-36 month, considering also the influence of several variables. Materials and Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional observational study on 260 healthy children (140 males = 54%) aged between 8-36 months (mean=23.5±7.18 months). All the parents completed a self-report questionnaire investigating the use of digital devices by their children, and a standardized questionnaire for the assessment of language skills (MacArthur). Multiple linear regression was used to evaluate the relationship between different variables. Subsequent moderation analysis were performed to verify the influence of other factors. Results: W found a statistically significant negative correlation between the total daily time of exposure to digital devices and the Actions and Gestures Quotient (ß=-0.397) in children between 8-17 months, and between the total daily time of exposure to digital devices and Language Quotient (ß=-0.224) in children between 18-36 months. Sex, level of education/job of parents, modality of use/content of digital device do not significantly affect these relationships. Conclusion: In our study we found that a longer time of exposure to digital devices was related to lower mimic-gestural skills in children from 8-17 months and to lower language skills in children between 18-36 months, regardless of age, sex, socio-economic status, content and modality of use. Further studies are needed to confirm and better understand this relationship, but parents and pediatricians are advised to limit the use of digital devices by children and encourage the social interaction to support the learning of language and communication skills in this age group.

Inspired by the definition of degenerate multi-poly-Genocchi polynomials given by using the degenerate multi-polyexponential functions. In this paper, we consider a class of new generating function for the degenerate multi-poly-Bernoulli polynomials, called the type 2 degenerate multi-poly-Bernoulli polynomials by means of the degenerate multiple polyexponential functions. Then, we investigate their some properties and relations. We show that the type 2 degenerate multi-poly-Bernoulli polynomials equals a linear combination of the weighted degenerate Bernoulli polynomials and Stirling numbers of the first kind. Moreover, we provide an addition formula and a derivative formula. Furthermore, in a special case, we acquire a correlation between the type 2 degenerate multi-poly-Bernoulli numbers and degenerate Whitney numbers.

In this article we first write a brief review of supersymmetric quantum mechanics and then we discuss the equivalence of two co-existing formalisms viz. tensor product formalism and partner hamiltonian formalism for 1-D SUSY Harmonic oscillator. Finally, we present a Mathematica code with which one can calculate the eigenstates of any 1-D SUSY partner Hamiltonian along with two illustrated examples of 1-D SUSY HO and 1-D SUSY infinite potential box.

Olive picking is one of the most common social agricultural activities in many regions of Andalusia where the predominant crop is the traditional olive grove. The machinery used includes shakers, blowers and an essential low-cost type: hand-rake sweepers. The latter are generally used by the women of the squads to sweep the olives that fall from the trees. This article is focused on the design and optimisation of a hand-rake sweeper, in terms of durability and cost, for the picking of olives and other fruits, such as almonds, which are currently the main alternative to non-perennial crops in Andalusia. A parametric design of a hand-rake sweeper was created for this application using the design software CATIA, and its most vulnerable points were analysed in terms of effectiveness with varying design parameters, conducting usage simulations with ANSYS for a light material such as polypropylene. The maximum von Mises stress of the whole structure was 155.81 MPa. Using ANSYS, the dimension parameters of the hand-rake sweeper structure were optimised. The modified design was analysed again, showing a reduction of maximum tensions of 10.06%, as well as a decrease in its maximum elongations (0.0181 mm).

It has been suggested that particle size plays an important role in determining the genotoxicity of gold nanoparticles (GNPs). The purpose of this study was to compare the potential radio-sensitization effects of two different sized GNPs (3.9 and 37.4 nm) fabricated and examined in vitro in Lewis Lung carcinoma (LLC) as a model of non-small cell lung cancer through use of comet and clonogenic assays. After the treatment of 2Gy X-ray irradiation, both particle sizes demonstrated increased DNA damage when compared to treatment with particles only and radiation alone. This radio-sensitization was further translated into a reduction in cell survival demonstrated by clonogenicity. This work indicates that GNPs of both sizes induce DNA damage in LLC cells at the tested concentrations, whereas the 37.4 nm particle size treatment group demonstrated greater significance in vitro. The presented data aids in the evaluation of the radiobiological response of Lewis Lung carcinoma cells treated with gold nanoparticles.

Nutritional limitations may shape populations and communities of organisms. This phenomenon is often studied by treating populations and communities as pools of homogenous individuals with average nutritional optima and experiencing average constraints and trade-offs that influence their fitness in a standardized way. However, populations and communities consist of individuals belonging to different sexes, each with specific nutritional demands and limitations. Taking this into account, we used the ecological stoichiometry framework to study sexual differences in the stoichiometric phenotypes, reflecting stoichiometric niches, of four spider taxa differing in hunting mode. The species and sexes differed fundamentally in their elemental phenotypes, including elements beyond those most commonly studied (C, N and P). Both species and sexes were distinguished by the C:N ratio and concentrations of Cu, K and Zn. Species additionally differed in concentrations of Na, Mg and Mn. Phosphorous was not involved in this differentiation. Sexual dimorphism in spiders’ elemental phenotypes, related to differences in their stoichiometric niches, suggests different nutritional optima and differences in nutritional limitation experienced by different sexes and species. This may influence the structure and functioning of spider populations and communities.

The last 20 years have seen a surge in scientific activity and promising results in the study of aging and longevity. Many researchers have focused on telomeres, which are composed of a series of TTAGGG repeat nucleotide sequences at the ends of each chromosome. Measurements of the length of these telomere strands show that they decrease in length with increasing age, leading many authors to propose that when the length of these telomere strands decreases sufficiently, the cells enter into a state of replicative senescence, eventually leading to disease and death. These ideas are supported by evidence that short telomere length is correlated with increased mortality. In this paper, we extend this idea to make an actual calculation of the predicted mortality rate caused by short telomere length induced senescence (STLIS). We derive a simple equation for the mathematical relationship between telomere length and mortality rate. Using only 3 parameters based on telomere length measurement data of Canadians, we have calculated both the magnitude and the age dependence of the mortality rate, for both men and women. We show that these calculated data are in good quantitative agreement with the actual number of Canadians that die. This agreement provides strong evidence (but not proof) that the mechanism of STLIS plays an important role in the major diseases of aging (e.g., cardiovascular disease, many cancers, and diabetes mellitus) which dominate human mortality. This result represents significant progress in our understanding the factors behind the cause of aging.

The compatibility of graphene or graphene oxide with its dispersion medium (polymer) plays a critical role in the formation nanocomposite materials with significant property improvements. Environmentally friendly miniemulsion polymerization, which allows a formation of nanoencapsulation in an aqueous phase and high molecular weight polymer/composite production is one promising method. In this study, we screened a series of amphiphilic modifiers and found that the quaternary ammonium (ar-vinyl benzyl) trimethyl ammonium chloride (VBTAC) pending carbon double bonds could effectively modify the graphene oxide (GO) to be compatible with the organophilic monomer. After that, free radical miniemulsion polymerization could successfully synthesize stable latex of exfoliated poly (methyl methacrylate) (PMMA)/ GO nanocomposite. The final latex had an extended storage life and a relatively uniform particle size distribution. X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis of this latex and its films indicated successful encapsulation of exfoliated nano-dimensional graphene oxide inside a polymer matrix.

Effectively responding to children’s nutritional status and eating behaviors in Mozambique requires a community-based care approach grounded in sound nursing research that is evidence-based. The Community Assessment, Intervention, and Empowerment Model (MAIEC) is a nursing theoretical model that bases clinical decision-making for community health nurses using communities as a unit of care. We used the MAIEC to identify a community-based nursing diagnosis to address children’s nutritional status and eating behaviors in Mozambique. Objectives: (1) To conduct a descriptive study of children’s nutritional status and eating behaviors in a school community in Mavalane, Mozambique, and (2) to identify a community-based nursing diagnosis using the MAIEC clinical decision-making matrix in the same school community. Method: A cross-sectional, quantitative study was conducted to assess the nutritional status of children using anthropometric data, including brachial perimeter and the tricipital skinfold, and standard deviation for the relation of weight-height, in a sample of 227 children. To assess community management of the problem and identify a community-based nursing diagnosis, we surveyed 176 parents/guardians and 49 education professionals, using a questionnaire based on the MAIEC clinical decision matrix as a reference. Results: Malnutrition was identified in more than half of the children (51.3%). We also identified a community-based nursing diagnosis of impaired community management related to the promotion of child health and healthy eating as evident by lack of community leadership, participation, and processing among more than 70% of the community members (parents/guardians and education professionals). Conclusion: A nursing diagnosis and diagnostic criteria for nutritional status and community management were identified. The need to intervene using a multidisciplinary public health approach is imperative, with the school community as the unit of care. In addition, reliable anthropometric data were used to complement the nursing diagnosis and guide future public health interventions.

During the last twenty years around the world there has been a rapid increase in the number of people visiting long established religious shrines as well as the creation of new sites by those operating outside the boundaries of institutional religion. This increase is intimately associated with the revival of traditional routes, the creation of new ones and the invention of new rituals (religious, spiritual and secular). To examine this process I will focus on the European region and two contrasting destinations in particular – the Catholic shrine of Lourdes, France, and the pre-Christian shrine of Avebury, England – drawing on my personal involvement in travelling to both destinations and being involved in ritual activities along the route and at the two destinations. In the discussion section of the paper I will explore the relevance of these two case studies to the analysis of power, agency and performance and the ways in which they expose (a) the role of institutions and entrepreneurs in creating rituals and sacred places and (b) the relationship between people and the domesticated landscape.

Nature-inspired algorithms are very popular tools for solving optimization problems inspired by nature. However, there is no guarantee that optimal solution can be obtained using a randomly selected algorithm. As such, the problem can be addressed using trial and error via the use of different optimization algorithms. Therefore, the proposed study in this paper analyzes the time-complexity and efficacy of some nature-inspired algorithms which includes Artificial Bee Colony, Bat Algorithm and Particle Swarm Optimization. For each algorithm used, experiments were conducted several times with iterations and comparative analysis was made. The result obtained shows that Artificial Bee Colony outperformed other algorithms in terms of the quality of the solution, Particle Swarm Optimization is time efficient while Artificial Bee Colony yield a worst case scenario in terms of time complexity.

The study of co-fusion was one of the essential topics in the history of metallurgy in China. Simulation experiments had been an essential concept in the study of the co-fusion steelmaking process. This paper mainly studied the simulation experiments of co-fusion from two aspects: the replication of co-fusion swords by three different methods, and the micro-analysis of the co-fusion samples. The experimental results indicated that several co-fusion swords could be made by different processes, but the carbon content and surface hardness were quite different. During repeated forging welded, the microstructure of the samples transformed from laminated to homogenized, finally the steel with a uniform carbon content was obtained. It was challenging to find the characteristics of co-fusion from the homogenized samples. The results prompted people to rethink the microstructure characteristics of ancient co-fusion artifacts.

Women in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields are under-represented, and women are also less likely than men to be in leadership positions generally. Little is known about the intersection of these areas: women in leadership in STEM. To determine what sort of barriers and assistance female STEM leaders have encountered, a survey was developed asking women who are in academic leadership positions in STEM about their experiences. The main barriers were similar in the STEM area and in leadership: balancing work/home life, devaluing of achievements, and imposter syndrome. The main two types of assistance in both STEM and leadership were support from spouse/partner, and encouragement from peers. The main barriers women encounter are cultural and will take time to overcome. The main assistance women have had comes from people, not training or institutional structures.

Objective: We aim to assess the reporting discrepancy and the difference between confirmed and unreported COVID-19-like death counts.Study Design: The study is based on time-series data.Methods: We used publicly available data to explore the differences between confirmed death counts and deaths with Codiv-19 symptoms between March 8, 2020, and July 11, 2020, in Bangladesh.Results: During the week ending May 9, 2020, the unreported COVID-19-like death count was higher than the confirmed COVID-19 death count; however, it was lower in the following weeks. On average, unreported COVID-19-like death counts were similar to the confirmed COVID-19 death counts during the same period. However, the reporting authority neither considers these deaths nor adjusts for potential seasonal influenza or other related deaths, which might produce incomplete COVID-19 data and respective mortality rates. Conclusions: Documenting unreported deaths with COVID-19 symptoms needs to be included in provisional death counts because it is essential to estimate a robust COVID-19 mortality rate and to offer data-driven pandemic response strategies. An urgent initiative is needed to prepare an acceptable guideline for COVID-19 death reporting.

Nature-inspired algorithms are very popular tools for solving optimization problems inspired by nature. However, there is no guarantee that optimal solution can be obtained using a randomly selected algorithm. As such, the problem can be addressed using trial and error via the use of different optimization algorithms. Therefore, the proposed study in this paper analyzes the time-complexity and efficacy of some nature-inspired algorithms which includes Artificial Bee Colony, Bat Algorithm and Particle Swarm Optimization. For each algorithm used, experiments were conducted several times with iterations and comparative analysis was made. The result obtained shows that Artificial Bee Colony outperformed other algorithms in terms of the quality of the solution, Particle Swarm Optimization is time efficient while Artificial Bee Colony yield a worst case scenario in terms of time complexity.

The article’s goal is to overview challenges and problems on the way from the state of the art CUDA accelerated neural networks code to multi-GPU code. For this purpose, the authors describe the journey of porting the existing in the GitHub, fully-featured CUDA accelerated Darknet engine to OpenCL. The article presents lessons learned and the techniques that were put in place to make this port happen. There are few other implementations on the GitHub that leverage the OpenCL standard, and a few have tried to port Darknet as well. Darknet is a well known convolutional neural network (CNN) framework. The authors of this article investigated all aspects of the porting and achieved the fully-featured Darknet engine on OpenCL. The effort was focused not only on the classification with the use of YOLO1, YOLO2, and YOLO3 CNN models. They also covered other aspects, such as training neural networks, and benchmarks to look for the weak points in the implementation. The GPU computing code substantially improves Darknet computing time compared to the standard CPU version by using underused hardware in existing systems. If the system is OpenCL-based, then it is practically hardware independent. In this article, the authors report comparisons of the computation and training performance compared to the existing CUDA-based Darknet engine in the various computers, including single board computers, and, different CNN use-cases. The authors found that the OpenCL version could perform as fast as the CUDA version in the compute aspect, but it is slower in memory transfer between RAM (CPU memory) and VRAM (GPU memory). It depends on the quality of OpenCL implementation only. Moreover, loosening hardware requirements by the OpenCL Darknet can boost applications of DNN, especially in the energy-sensitive applications of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML).

Endometrial Cancer (EC) is the sixth most commonly occurring cancer in women with 380 000 cases in 2018. Sadly, EC morbidity and mortality are continuously increasing, therefore the medical society have a substantial need for an accurate and inexpensive diagnostic test for EC early detection and a prognostic tool for treatment planning and evaluation. Considering experience with different types of cancers C-reactive protein (CRP) appears to be a promising diagnostic and prognostic factor. Aiming to investigate its potential and in view of EC authors, this paper reviewed the following databases for metanalysis, randomized controlled trials and review articles published up to June 2020: Pubmed, Scopus, Google scholar and ClinicalKey. Studies indicate CRP >3.33 mg/l correlate with EC incidence with HR = 2.29 (p<0.05). Moreover, High-sensitivity CRP assay allows to detect CRP in very low concentrations and distinguish patients with endometriosis, soft tissue sarcomas and possibly EC. Preoperational and postoperational CRP, as well as its dynamic change are independent prognostic factors for EC and are more reliable if analyzed together. However, CRP-to-albumin ratio as well as Glasgow Prognostic Scale have greater prognostic value that CRP alone. Additionally, CRP is possibly a mediator of carcinogenesis and cancer progression through activation of inter alia FcgRs/MAPK/ERK, FcgRs/IL-6/AKT/STAT3 and FcgRs/NF-κB/NLRP3 pathways.

In this scientific research, thermally stable nickel nanoparticles were synthesized and characterized. Nickel nanoparticles were synthesized using phenol –formaldehyde by chemical method followed by calcination. The polymer metal complex was confirmed by FTIR and NMR. The spherical morphology of nickel nanoparticles confirmed by SEM. The crystallographic structure is confirmed by XRD and size of cobalt nanoparticles is 24.0 nm. The TGA analysis was performed over a range of 29-600OC. The TGA thermograph predicts mass decomposition of 11%, for nickel phenol-formaldehyde nanocomposite. The decomposition rate of composites is very low 2% weight loss per 100OC increment in temperature.

Farmer’s right and their sovereignty is an important issue related with intellectual property rights and agrobiodiversity management. To boost farmer’s right, a conceptual hypothesis is proposed where they choose either a new high yielding variety or the existing one and apply conventional breeding approaches to select the seed for next years in their own fields. Although farmers produce seeds traditionally from several years, they have not been guided with scientific discipline to produce sufficient amount of quality seeds. This new concept suggests trained farmers can use breeding approaches to produce quality seed for their own use.

Cytokines are a family of proteins which play a major role in the regulation of immune system, and enter the development of several diseases from rheumatoid arthritis to cancer and, more recently, COVID-19. Therefore, many efforts are currently being spent in therapy and diagnosis, producing inhibitory drugs, as well as biosensors for a rapid, poor invasive, and effective detection. In this regards, even more efficient cytokine receptors are under investigation. In this paper we analyze a set of receptors of cytokine IL-6, investigating their topological features by means of a theoretical approach. Our results suggest a topological indicator that may help in the identification of those receptors having the highest complementarity with the protein, a feature expected to ensure a stable binding. Furthermore, we propose and discuss the use of these receptors in an ideal experiment.

Electronic Word of Mouth (eWOM) has been widely used by the majority of consumers in different digital platforms. This exploratory study was conducted with the aim to get further insights about online consumer behavior through social networking sites and online reviews sites in order to help tourism businesses develop sustainable eWOM strategies. In order to carry out this objective, an exploratory study has been developed to analyze the existing literature of eWOM strategies and online consumer behavior. The systematic literature review analysis establishes two main topics: (i) tourism (ii) eWOM. The scientific database of Web of Science has been used to collect relevant literature of the subject matter. The search term “Tourism” and “eWOM” were applied. The database of Web of Science produced a total of 124 articles and with the different filters applied during the PRISMA 2009 Flow diagram the process resulted in a selection of 13 studies. The results of the research will provide a broader knowledge for scholars of social sciences and businesses for adopting sustainable strategies of the increasing influence of eWOM in tourism.

The questions on who is entitled to benefit from REDD+ transactions remains one of the most controversially debated issues around cooperative efforts to reduce deforestation in developing countries. REDD+ has been conceived as international framework for voluntary efforts of developing countries to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and enhance carbon removals from forest activities. Designed as international framework under the UNFCCC that calculates emission reductions and removals (ERRs) at the national -and as an interim step on the subnational level – REDD+ is primarily a creature of international law. However, in defining forest-carbon ERRs the international framework competes with national emission trading systems and domestic REDD+ legislation as well as private standards that define units traded on the voluntary carbon market. The definition of various carbon units is closely linked to the question on who is entitled to participate in REDD+ and benefit from the sale of ERRs under results-based payment schemes or carbon market transactions. This paper applies a legal lens to the various claims to participate in REDD+ transactions. It tries to disentangle the various rights to ERRs, various carbon credits, and payments that come with REDD+ and that almost always create confusion and not seldom conflict around REDD+ implementation. The definition of carbon rights and the legal nature of carbon credits depends on local law and differs between countries. However, there are a number of legal considerations that apply and certain underlying concepts are relevant for the understanding of REDD+ transactions and the allocation of benefits and burdens of conservation activities.

Purpose: to assess any differences on marginal bone loss between bone-level or tissue-level dental implants through a review of literature until September 2019. Materials and methods: MEDLINE, Embase and other database were searched by two independent authors. The search was limited to articles in English. Results: The search provided 1028 records and, after removing the duplicates through titles and abstracts screening, 45 full-text articles were assessed for eligibility. For qualitative analysis 20 articles were included, 17 articles of them for quantitative analysis. A total of 1161 patients (mean age 54,4 years) and 2933 implants were observed, 1427 (Tissue-level) and 1506 (Bone-level). The survival rate and the success rate were more than 90%, except for 2 studies with a success rate of 88% and 86.2%. No studies reported any differences between groups in term of success and survival rates. Three studies showed that BL-implants had statistically less marginal bone loss (P< 0.05). Only one study reported statistically less marginal bone loss in TL-implants (P< 0.05). In the most part of the studies, differences between implant types in marginal bone loss were not statistically significant. Conclusion: Despite to the peri-implant tissue around transmucosal implants has been reported to be inflammation-free because of the absence of bacterial infiltration in the micro-gap between the fixture and abutment, no clinical and radiological differences were highlighted between groups from the included studies after a variable period of follow-up ranged between 1 to 5 years.

Recent advancements in web-based geospatial software and smartphone technology have popularized the process of voluntary production and sharing of geospatial data by individual citizens. Through such Volunteered Geographic Information (VGI) activities, people across the world participate in online mapping projects (such as OpenStreetMap) to insert their spatial information. The quality of data generated by such VGI activities has profound impacts on online mapping projects and their spatial database. In this study, we examine the VGI contribution pattern in OpenStreetMap through three case study neighborhoods located in three major cities: Tehran, London, and Los Angeles, and investigate how it might affect the process of quality assessment of VGI.

An optimal scheduling strategy for cooling, heating and power (CCHP) joint-power-supply system is proposed to improve energy utilization and minimize costs in this paper. Firstly, the mathematical model of CCHP system is established. Particle swarm optimization (PSO) is used to optimize the regularization coefficient C and the kernel parameter λ which can affect the prediction accuracy of KELM(PSO-KELM). Then PV generation and load prediction model are established by PSO-KELM. In order to jump out of local optimal solution, Cauchy variation is introduced in SFLA local update, and adaptive mutation operation is carried out on SFLA individuals. The predictions of PV generation and load power by PSO-KELM are imported into the objective function, and the microgrid dispatching model is solved by the improved SFLA algorithm. Compared with the traditional GA-KELM and KELM, PSO-KELM has faster convergence and prediction accuracy. Compared with the power supply division, the operation cost of the power grid is reduced by the proposed optimization dispatching strategy of CCHP micro-grid.

The mass concentration of particulate matter (PM) has been systematically used in epidemiological studies as exposure indicator, to relate airborne concentrations with a wide variety of human health effects, which can be hardly explained by using this single parameter. In fact, PM is a “particle cocktail” that includes a complex mixture of compounds with a wide range of sizes, chemical compositions and emission sources. Current research hypothesizes that many of the adverse health effects are derived from oxidative stress in biological systems caused by the deposition of PM into the lungs. This emerging hypothesis is called the oxidative stress paradigm. In this commentary article we analize how this new paradigm could help to answer the as-of-yet unanswered questions related to the mechanism of action of PM pollution on human health. Acellular oxidative potential (OP) assays have been emerged as a promising approach to quantify the PM potential to induce oxidative stress and to relate it with the chemical composition and size distribution of PM. Recent researches have shown that the OP is related to the presence of metals, organic carbon, polyaromatic hydrocarbons and quinones. However, the association between PM and particle-induced toxicity is still largely unknown. Therefore, additional research is needed to identify the specific PM characteristic(s), such as its specific size, emission source or chemical content, which contribute the most to its redox activity. Thus, the OP measurements provide information that allows us to evaluate and integrate the toxic potential of PM in a unique parameter, whose relationships with emission sources, size distribution and/or chemical composition should be faced in the near future.

Measuring the status and trends of biodiversity is critical for making informed decisions about the conservation, management or restoration of species, habitats and ecosystems. Defining the reference state against which status and change are measured is essential. Typically, reference states describe historical conditions, yet historical conditions are challenging to quantify, may be difficult to falsify, and may no longer be an attainable target in a contemporary ecosystem. We have constructed a conceptual framework to help inform thinking and discussion around the philosophical underpinnings of reference states and guide their application. We characterise currently recognised historical reference states and describe them as Pre-Human, Indigenous Cultural, Pre-Intensification and Hybrid-Historical. We extend the conceptual framework to include contemporary reference states as an alternative theoretical perspective. The contemporary reference state framework is a major conceptual shift that focuses on current ecological patterns and identifies areas with higher biodiversity values, regardless of the disturbance history. The specific context for which we design the contemporary conceptual frame is underpinned by an overarching goal—to maximise biodiversity conservation and restoration outcomes in existing ecosystems. The contemporary reference state framework can account for the inherent differences in the diversity of biodiversity values (e.g., species richness, habitat complexity) across spatial scales, communities and ecosystems. In contrast to historical reference states, contemporary references states are measurable and falsifiable. This ‘road map of reference states’ offers perspective needed to define and assess the status and trends in biodiversity and habitats. Our framework for contemporary reference states provides a tractable way for policy-makers and practitioners to navigate biodiversity assessments to maximise conservation and restoration outcomes in contemporary ecosystems. We illustrate how to define a contemporary reference state using an example from south-eastern Australia.

In the last few decades, the dynamics of tumor cells and their growths are presented via clinical, experimental, and theoretical approaches, which leads to the development of the new idea of multiple cancer therapies to control and reduce the death rate for earlier detection. In this paper, we discussed the dynamics of tumor cell growth and its treatment process. We analyzed some simple mathematical models and generalized the study to understand the growth of tumor cells. The main proposed model is a system of ordinary differential equations which combines interactions among natural killer cells, dendritic cells and cytotoxic CD8+ T cells. The model is solved numerically to explain how the tumor cells spread and become more dangerous as well as the treatment process of cancer. It is also studied that how the cell behaves in the presence of different therapy and drugs. The optimal control of chemotherapy has been discussed. It has also been explained how much the model is effective in reducing tumor cells over time. Finally, a couple of spatially distributed models are discussed for tumor cell growth.

Mathematical modelling of bioprocesses has a long and notable history, with eminent contributions from fields including microbiology, ecology, biophysics, chemistry, statistics, control theory and mathematical theory. This richness of ideas and breadth of concepts provide great motivation for inquisitive engineers and intrepid scientists to try their hand at modelling, and this collaboration of disciplines has also delivered significant milestones in the quality and application of models for both theoretical and practical interrogation of engineered biological systems. The focus of this review is the anaerobic digestion process, which, as a technology that has come in and out of fashion, still remains a fundamental process for addressing the global climate emergency. Whether with conventional anaerobic digestion systems, biorefineries, or other anaerobic technologies, mathematical models are important tools that are used to design, monitor, control and optimise the process. Both highly structured, mechanistic models and data-driven approaches have been used extensively over half a decade, but recent advances in computational capacity, scientific understanding and diversity and quality of process data, presents an opportunity for the development of new modelling paradigms, augmentation of existing methods, or even incorporation of tools from other disciplines, to ensure that anaerobic digestion research can remain resilient and relevant in the face of emerging and future challenges.

Coronavirus and COVID-19 infections continue to wreak havoc across the world. Interestingly, the COVID-19 infections and deaths display a clear seven-day cycles. Mathematical analysis using linear mixed-effects models show that this periodicity is not due to reporting errors. We hypothesize that these COVID-19 cycles are related to natural immune cycles which also oscillate every seven days. These immune cycles are regulated by stress and mediated through the endocrine and the central nervous systems. Our routine activities and lifestyle of more stressful weekdays flanked by less stressful, relaxing weekends define the seven-day immune cycles. The synchronized low immunity levels in the population is responsible for repeated seven-day waves of pathogenic infections such as COVID-19. The new understanding of the role of immune oscillations will help in developing strategies to enhance our immunity through modified lifestyle and better, innovative prophylactic and therapeutic approaches against infectious diseases.

COVID-19 appeared as an infectious disease of global health emergency and the highest public health concern of 21st century for this world due to its high-speed of spread across the globe. The disease started as one single case to a cluster of cases in Wuhan, China (Dec 2019) and within few months with its continuous upsurge of cases spreading globally which has created enormous threat and tension across the global Public health care field. Most significantly to share the fact that, this disease caused high level of Risk Group mortality, high morbidity, health care services burden, panic anxiety, mental trauma and tension, social and economic insecurity, which also collectively surfaced by diverse range of social reaction and political pressure across the world. Also with the appearance of new and unknown pathogenesis of the disease has created the most and significant attention and concern for the scientific community and political leaders as well. The disease also varies much with its pattern of virus, sign, symptoms, characteristics including its epidemiological and public health response (like prevention strategy, diagnoses, case management, treatment pattern) across the countries. However, this variance is comparatively less rather even more in commonality while it comes to basic public health prevention interventions like frequent hand washing, wearing face mask, maintaining social/physical distancing (2 - 6 meter in between), individual isolation and community quarantine for suspected exposure and lockdown in community areas where cases are identified. These are with the most commonly practiced public health interventions to deal with this disease in majority of the epicenters across countries. Also with the progress of the disease with its diverse categorical appearance of sign symptoms which are uniquely portraying this disease is more of a kind of COVID-19 syndrome than as COVID-19. Moreover, various factors including socio economic status, health status, population dynamics, health system and infrastructure, health behavioral pattern, nutrition and food habit and access to information and knowledge made this viral disease one of the historically counted on expensive disease of the modern world to fight for. Specially to mention here, the case fatality rate distinctively vary with the population dynamics and the health system infrastructure and ability factors which have already created clear evidence as explained in this paper how these factors are uniquely distinguished and different from country to country. Apart from the contextual differences, the various kind of ongoing preventive measures (like prevention, diagnosis and treatment) learnt every day from the emerging characteristics and pattern of this viral disease which are most commonly practiced across countries with a variance. According to the Public health prevention practice and interventions, the total world is connected and learning from each other’s public health experiences to fight for the virus. However, the world communities are eagerly waiting to see the result and outcome of the ongoing therapeutics and vaccine trial initiated in several countries, the people of the world are quite optimistic and hopeful that, global scientific community will be able to invent some miraculous and magic solution in upcoming months which ultimately will free the world from this most terrifying COVID-19 pandemic of 21st century.

Small-scale fishers are considered as one of the most vulnerable communities in Bangladesh but very few studies focused on the livelihood sustainability and vulnerabilities of this professional group. A fieldwork in lower Padma and upper Meghna hilsa sanctuaries identifies different livelihood characters and associated vulnerabilities of the fishers. A conceptual framework known as Sustainable Livelihood Approaches (SLA) has been introduced to analyses the qualitative and quantitative data. The insights of the livelihood strategies provide on small-scale fishers and fisheries management have been explained and explored. Fishers are found solely dependent on fishing, economically insolvent and neglected. In addition, some socio-economic abstractions such as low income, credit insolvency, lack of substitute earning flexibility make them more vulnerable. A number of effective suggestions are elicited from fishers’ perceptions, the implementation of which is crucial to ensure livelihood sustainability of the small-scale fishers.

The author's method of oligomer sums for analysis of oligomer compositions of eukaryotic and prokaryotic genomes is described. The use of this method revealed the existence of general rules for cooperative oligomeric organization of a wide list of genomes. These rules are called hyperbolic because they are associated with hyperbolic sequences including the harmonic progression 1, 1/2, 1/3, .., 1/n. These rules are demonstrated by examples of quantitative analysis of many genomes from the human genome to the genomes of archaea and bacteria. The hyperbolic (harmonic) rules, speaking about the existence of algebraic invariants in full genomic sequences, are considered as candidates for the role of universal rules for the cooperative organization of genomes. The described phenomenological results were obtained as consequences of the previously published author's quantum-information model of long DNA sequences. The oligomer sums method was also applied to the analysis of long genes and viruses including the COVID-19 virus; this revealed, in characteristics of many of them, the phenomenon of such rhythmically repeating deviations from model hyperbolic sequences, which are associated with DNA triplets. In addition, an application of the oligomer sums method are shown to the analysis of the following long sequences: 1) amino acid sequences in long proteins like the protein Titin; 2) phonetic sequences of long Russan literary texts (for checking of thoughts of many authors that phonetic organization of human languages is deeply connected with the genetic language). The topics of the algebraic harmony in living bodies and of the quantum-information approach in biology are discussed.

Progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) is a sporadic parkinsonism tauopathy characterised by the deposition of aggregations of abnormal, hyperphosphorylated four-repeat tau (4R-tau). A revised clinical diagnostic criterion for PSP allows early presentations for the full spectrum of clinical phenotypes to be recognised enabling doctors to make a more accurate diagnosis. The major genetic risk factor for sporadic PSP is a common variant in the gene encoding microtubule-associated protein tau (MAPT). Research into the biochemical and pathological pathways of tau is vital to improve the chances of developing an effective diagnostic biomarker to monitor tau pathogenesis. Neuroimaging biomarkers, such as tau PET ligands, are proving the most successful tool in providing a differential diagnosis between neurodegenerative disorders. There are currently no effective treatments for PSP, however tau-directed therapies in the last five years have rapidly advanced. Latest tau therapies are proposed to have disease-modifying effects by reducing toxic aggregations of tau through manipulating tau gene expression. After encouraging results from long awaited trials, additional funding is being injected into this field and with new results expected, this proves an exciting area for scientific discovery. This paper reviews advances in pathophysiology, diagnosis, biomarkers and disease-modifying therapeutic treatments for PSP.

The gastrointestinal (GI) tract is innervated by the enteric nervous system (ENS), an extensive neuronal network that traverses along its walls. Due to local reflex circuits, the ENS is capable of functioning with and without input from the central nervous system. The functions of the ENS range from the propulsion of food to nutrient handling, blood flow regulation and immunological defense. Records of it first being studied emerged in the early 19th century when the submucosal and myenteric plexuses were discovered. This was followed by extensive research and further delineation of its development, anatomy, and function during the next two centuries. The morbidity and mortality associated with the underdevelopment, infection or inflammation of the ENS highlights its importance and the need for us to completely understand its normal function. This review will provide a general overview of the ENS to date and connect specific GI disorders such as short bowel syndrome with neuronal pathophysiology. Exciting opportunities in which the ENS could be used as a therapeutic target for common GI diseases will also be highlighted, as the further unlocking of such mechanisms could open the door to more therapy-related advances, and ultimately change our approach to GI disorders.

Nucleoid-associated proteins (NAPs) play an architectural role by bending, bridging, and wrapping the DNA along with a regulatory role of controlling various transcriptional units in the cell. Previews reviews have highlighted the role of HU and its paralog IHF plays in intracellular function as a transcriptional regulator, nucleoid bending protein and sometimes also moonlights in other functions. This review highlights along with the canonical functions of HU and IHF which affects genes responsible for translational machineries, cell wall biosynthesis, aerobic respiration and virulence ; other non-canonical roles which HU plays outside the cellular milieu, notably in acting as an adhesin and playing role in host-cell adhesion, its role in biofilm architecture and its association with cationic low complexity region, resembling histone like H1 proteins. HU and IHF thus has evolved as a hub protein performing a vast type of functions which makes it a important drug target for antibacterial therapy.

Background and objectives: Quality assurance and institutional accreditation in education is becoming of paramount importance. This study aims to assess the impacts of the accreditation process of the National Center for Quality Assurance and Accreditation (NCAAA) on the quality of education in one of private university in Libya. Methods: The research adopts a descriptive study design in University of Tripoli Alahlia (UTA) where an official accreditation process was completed by the NCQAA during 2017-2019. Data were collected using the self-study report that produced by the NCQAA accreditation committee during the accreditation process, and were retrieved in specific data collection sheet by one of the authors. Results: The NCQAA accreditation process that lasted about 4 years brought significant changes in the educational progressions and made the staff members more aware of quality issues in education. Our findings also reported significant improvements in the quality of education in the university. Conclusions: The process of NCQAA accreditation conducted in UTA has been positively improved the quality of education. Data from other institutions would also expressively increase the relevance and rationality of the study.

Background: The hedgehog (HH) signaling pathway is a key regulator of embryonic patterning, tissue regeneration, stem cell renewal, and cancer growth. The smoothened (SMO) protein regulates the HH signaling pathway and has demonstrated oncogenic activity. Methods: To clarify the role of the HH signaling pathway in tumorigenesis, the expression profile of key HH signaling molecules, including SMO, PTCH1, GLI1, GLI2, and GLI3, were determined in thirty-three cancer cell lines. We performed a computational analysis of the upstream region of the SMO gene to identify the regulatory elements. Results: Three potential CpG islands and several putative SMO promoter elements were identified. Luciferase reporter assays mapped key SMO promoter elements, and functional binding sites for SP1, AP1, CREB, and AP-2a transcription factors in the core SMO promoter region were confirmed. A hypermethylated SMO promoter was identified in several cancer cell lines suggesting an important role for epigenetic silencing of SMO expression in certain cancer cells. Discussion: These results have important implications for our understanding of regulatory mechanisms controlling HH pathway activity and the molecular basis of SMO gene function. Moreover, this study may prove valuable for future research aimed at producing therapeutic downregulation of SMO expression in cancer cells.

The challenge regarding COVID-19 is to prevent complications and fatal evolution. Azithromycin (AZM) and hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) have proven their antiviral effect in vitro. We aimed to assess the efficacy and safety of AZM alone or combined to HCQ, prescribed, at an early stage, in patients with Covid-19, in a primary care setting. Eighty-eight patients received either no or a symptomatic treatment (NST) (n=34) or AZM alone (n=34) or AZM+HCQ (n=20). The efficacy end point was the time to clinical recovery and the safety end point was the occurrence of cardiovascular events. The mean (SD) times to achieve clinical recovery were respectively 25.8 days (11.1), 12.9 days (13.4) and 9.2 days (9.3), showing a statistically significant difference between NST and AZM alone (p<0.0001) or AZM+HCQ (p<0.0001). To improve the evidence level, a case-control analysis was performed on a sample of 57 patients (19/group) matched for age, sex and BMI. The statistical difference between NST and AZM was confirmed (p=0.0149) as well as the difference with AZM+HCQ (p=0.0002). No cardiac toxicity was recorded in any patient. No statistical difference was shown between AZM and AZM+HCQ groups, although the dual therapy tended to be more effective in patients over 50 years, based on an analysis using the cox model. In conclusion, AZM and AZM+HCQ favourably impacted the course of the disease. We need trials, ideally prospective/double blind, to show if a statistical difference can be evidenced with a broader group, and clarify the indications of each treatment depending on initial clinical presentation.

Background: Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a leading cause of acute lower respiratory infection globally. There are vaccines in pipeline to prevent it but a systematic review on immunogenicity and safety of vaccine is lacking. Methods: This systematic review of RSV vaccine clinical trials was undertaken using 4 databases. Searches were conducted using both controlled vocabulary terms such as ‘Respiratory Syncytial Virus, Human’, ‘Respiratory Syncytial Virus Infections’, ‘Respiratory Syncytial Virus Vaccines’, ‘Immunization’, ‘Immunization Programs’ and ‘Vaccines’ and corresponding text word terms. The searches for published papers were limited to clinical trials published from January 2000 to August 6th, 2018. RSV infection case was defined as RSV associated medically attended acute respiratory illness (MAARI) or RSV infection by serologically-confirmed test (Western Blot) during the RSV surveillance period. We calculated the relative risk of each vaccine trial with RSV infection case. Results: Of 4395 publications, 24 were included and data were extracted covering 4 major types of RSV vaccine candidates, these being live-attenuated/chimeric (n=9), recombinant-vector (n=10), subunit (n=1) and nanoparticle vaccines (n=4). For RSV infection cases, 7 trials were involved and none of them showed a vaccine-related increased MAARI during RSV surveillance season. Conclusion: LID ∆M2-2, MEDI M2-2, and RSVcps2 (live-attenuated) were considered the most promising vaccine candidates in infant and children. In the elderly, a nanoparticle F vaccine candidate was considered as a potential effective vaccine. Although no promising vaccine was identified from pregnant-women test, RSV F-024 subunit vaccine candidate and an RSV F nanoparticle vaccine showed encouraging results in healthy non-pregnant women.

Vitamin C is an essential nutrient that must be obtained through the diet in adequate amounts to prevent hypovitaminosis C and the potentially fatal deficiency disease scurvy. Global vitamin C status and prevalence of deficiency has not previously been reported, despite vitamin C’s pleiotropic roles in both non-communicable and communicable disease. This review highlights the global literature on vitamin C status and the prevalence of hypovitaminosis C and deficiency. Related dietary intake is reported if assessed in the studies. We also explore if global vitamin C status has changed over time. Overall, the review illustrates the shortage of high quality epidemiological studies of vitamin C status in many countries, particularly low- and middle-income countries. The available evidence indicates that vitamin C deficiency is common in low- and middle-income countries and not uncommon in high income settings. Further high quality studies are required to confirm these findings, including in the countries not yet represented, and to fully understand associations with a range of disease processes. Our findings suggest a need for interventions to prevent deficiency in a range of at risk groups and regions of the world.

Human intestinal flora refers to a large and diverse microbial population present in the digestive tract of the human body, which plays a significant role in the establishment of human immune homeostasis and the normal function of the immune system. Myasthenia Gravis is an autoimmune disease of the neuromuscular junction, mainly involved in the anti-acetylcholine receptor antibody, cellular immune dependence, and complement¹. At present, studies have found that the intestinal flora of Myasthenia Gravis is different from that of healthy people. Probiotic therapy has been shown effective in the experimental autoimmune Myasthenia Gravis animal models. This article reviews the relationship between intestinal flora and Myasthenia Gravis, to provide new ideas for further study of the pathogenesis and clinical treatment of Myasthenia Gravis.

As an on-going pandemic caused by the out-break of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) or simply COVID-19 sweeps through the globe at an unprecedented rate leaving behind trails of high infection and mortality, it is crucial to understand the propagation dynamics of the virus in a host population in order to take urgent and effective remedial and mitigating steps to save life. It is already observed in many countries and communities that accurate and timely testing, tracing, and tracking of the infection lead to better containment and slowing down of the spread. In this exploratory research, the early growth dynamics of infection within a population is pursued based on real data. The study posits that the early growth in a homogenous population follows an exponential pattern motivating further rigorous quantitative treatment based on a number of analytical models such as logistic model, Richard’s model, and Gompertz model– the acceleration pattern of the outbreak is ascertained from the daily inflection data, and regression analysis against population models yields dynamic growth indices which allow very accurate prediction of the successive outbreak size when calibrated continually with updated data. The performance of the various models is evaluated with the real dataset. More, the basic reproduction number of the COVID-19 virus propagation in the community is estimated based on the on-set phase dataset using multi-compartmental epidemiological model. Also, the maximum infection size, infection doubling time and the scope of the herd immunity are also inferred for COVID-19 in a population.

Maternal milk, from well-nourished and healthy mothers, is a source of several bioactive compounds and balanced nutrients required for proper growth and development of the infant. Hence it is regarded as the optimal form of nourishment. Human milk fat from human milk is the most crucial component and is a necessity for the growing infant. However, in certain cases, the breast milk may fulfill the nutritional needs or the breast-feeding of the infant is not feasible; infant formulae are then considered as the best alternative as nutritional support. It becomes essential for the infant formula to behave and provide nutritive support in the same way as human milk. In order to achieve so, the most crucial components of all should also be prepared precisely, i.e., the analogue of human milk fat. This analogue, which mimics the actual human milk fat, can be then used as a prime ingredient while designing the infant formula. Significant research and several advances have been made in preparing the infant formula enriched with adequate fat content, and more studies are still being conducted in order to achieve a more sound product in the most economical and simplest way possible.

The present investigation deals with the determination of the physio-chemical properties of two commercial grade samples of local gums (Gum Arabic and Natural Rubber Latex (NRL)). The results revealed that the gum samples have high melting point that indicate thermal stability at room and moderate temperatures. The gum samples have about 95 % carbohydrate content and a corresponding high internal energy and can serve as a source of energy. The rheology of the samples revealed shear-thickening characteristics with gum Arabic being thixotropic and pseudo-plastic in nature while NRL was observed to be anti-thixotropic and rheopectic. Further results from the moisture absorption, contact angle and Fourier Transform Infrared Radioscopy (FTIR) analyses gave better insight into their hydroscopic behaviors. Gum Arabic has excellent water absorption capacity with less wettability as it consists mainly of more water-soluble compounds in comparison to Natural Rubber Latex. These insights from the study will enhance wider application of the gums with increased value-addition to the gums and the communities where they (can) thrive.

CRISPR/Cas genome editing is a widely used research technology. Its simplest variant is gene knockout resulting from reparation errors after introduction of dsDNA breaks by Cas nuclease. We compared the outcomes of the break repair by two commonly used nucleases (SpCas9 and LbCas12a) in zebrafish embryos to reveal if application of one nuclease is advantageous in comparison to the other. To address this question, we injected ribonucleoprotein complexes of nucleases and corresponding guide RNAs in zebrafish zygotes and three days later sequenced the target gene regions. We found that LbCas12a breaks resulted in longer deletions and more rare inserts, in comparison to those generated by SpCas9, while the editing efficiencies of both nucleases were the same. On the other hand, overlapping protospacers were shown to lead to similarities in repair outcome, although they were cut by two different nucleases. Thus, our results indicate that the repair outcome depends both on the nuclease mode of action and on protospacer sequence.

The Gauss model for the time evolution of the first corona pandemic wave rendered useful in the estimation of peak times, amount of required equipment, and the forecasting of fade out times. At the same time it is probably the simplest analytically tractable model that allows to quantitatively forecast the time evolution of infections and fatalities during a pandemic wave. In light of the various descriptors such as doubling times and reproduction factors currently in use to judge about lock-downs and other measures that aim to prevent spreading of the virus, we hereby provide both exact, and simple approximate relationships between the two relevant parameters of the Gauss model (peak time and width), and the transient behavior of two versions of doubling times, and three variants of reproduction factors including basic reproduction numbers.

The purpose of this paper is to analyze market reflexivity in agricultural futures contracts with different maturities. To this end, we apply a four-dimensional Hawkes model to storable and non-storable agricultural commodities. We find market reflexivity for both storable and non-storable commodities. Reflexivity accounts for about 50 to 70 percent of the total trading activity. Differences between nearby and deferred contracts are less pronounced for non-storable than for storable commodities. We conclude that the co-existence of exogenous and endogenous price dynamics does not change qualitative characteristics of the price discovery process that have been observed earlier without consideration of market reflexivity.

Trees provide key ecosystem services, but the health and sustainability of these plants is under increasing biotic and abiotic threat, including from the growing incidences of non-native invasive plant pests (including pathogens). The island of Ireland (Ireland and Northern Ireland) is generally accepted to have a high plant health status, in part due to its island status and because of the national and international regulations aimed at protecting plant health. To establish a baseline of the current pest threats to tree health for the island of Ireland, the literature and unpublished sources were reviewed to produce a dataset of pests of trees on the island of Ireland. The dataset contains 396 records of pests of trees on the island of Ireland, the majority of pests being arthropods and fungi, and indicating potentially more than 44 non-native pest introductions. The reliability of many (378) of the records was judged to be high, therefore the dataset provides a robust assessment of the state of pests of trees recorded on the island of Ireland. We analyse this dataset and review the history of plant pest invasions, including (i) discussion on notable native and non-native pests of trees, (ii) pest interceptions at borders and (iii) pests and climate change. The dataset establishes an important baseline for the knowledge of plant pests on the island of Ireland, and will be a valuable resource for future plant health research and policy making.

With the evolution of computing technology in many application like human robot interaction, human computer interaction and health-care system, 3D human body models and their dynamic motions has gained popularity. Human performance accompanies human body shapes and their relative motions. Research on human activity recognition is structured around how the complex movement of a human body is identified and analyzed. Vision based action recognition from video is such kind of tasks where actions are inferred by observing the complete set of action sequence performed by human. Many techniques have been revised over the recent decades in order to develop a robust as well as effective framework for action recognition. In this survey, we summarize recent advances in human action recognition, namely the machine learning approach, deep learning approach and evaluation of these approaches.

Although most cases of COVID-19 are paucisymptomatic, severe disease is characterized by immune dysregulation, with a decreased type I interferon response, increased inflammatory indicators, surging IL-6, IL-10 and TNFα suggestive of cytokine storm, progressive lymphopenia, and abnormal blood clotting. Factors determining susceptibility to severe disease are poorly understood, although mortality correlates with increasing age and co-morbidities including diabetes and cardiovascular disease (CVD). Pyridoxal 5'-phosphate (PLP) tends to be insufficient in populations particularly vulnerable to COVID-19, including the elderly, the institutionalized, and people with diabetes and CVD, and PLP becomes further depleted during infection and inflammation. In turn, low PLP results in immune imbalance, as PLP is an essential cofactor in pathways regulating cytokine production, in particular type I interferons and IL-6, and in lymphocyte trafficking and endothelial integrity. Furthermore, normalizing PLP levels attenuates abnormalities in platelet aggregation and clot formation. Finally, PLP insufficiency induces excess secretion of renin and angiotensin, and hypertension. In inflammatory disease, pharmacological doses of PLP decrease circulating TNFα, IL-6 and D-dimer, and animal studies demonstrate that supplemental PLP shortens the duration and severity of viral pneumonia. Severe COVID-19 manifests as an imbalance in the immune response and the clotting system. Pharmacological PLP supplementation may therefore mitigate COVID-19 symptoms by alleviating both the immune suppression underlying viral spread and the pathological hypersecretion of inflammatory cytokines, as well as directly bolstering endothelial integrity and preventing hypercoagulability.

This paper studies the integrated design problems of control and guidance with parameter uncertainties, target disturbances, input constraints and actuator faults. Firstly, based on the integrated design idea of the missile guidance and control, the auxiliary variable is used to establish and transform it into a cascade system with input constraints, actuator faults and disturbances of unknown upper bounds. Secondly, the adaptive anti-saturation dynamic surface fault-tolerant controller is designed by using the back-stepping method, adaptive control, auxiliary system and tracking differentiator. By introducing the tracking differentiator and tangent barrier Lyapunov function, the computational explosion problem in the traditional back-stepping method is avoided and the angle of attack can be guaranteed in prospective range, respectively. Finally, the theoretical proof of the designed control strategy is given to ensure that the states of the closed-loop system are bounded. At the same time, the digital simulation of the maneuvering target of different maneuvering forms is carried out, which further illustrate the effectiveness and robustness of the designed control schemes.

Currently available data are consistent with increased severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) replication at temperatures encountered in the upper airways (25–33°C when breathing room temperature air, 25°C) compared to those in the lower airways (37°C). One factor that may contribute to more rapid viral growth in the upper airways is the exponential increase in SARS-CoV-2 stability that occurs with reductions in temperature, as measured in vitro. Because SARS-CoV-2 frequently initiates infection in the upper airways before spreading through the body, increased upper airway viral growth early in the disease course may result in more rapid progression of disease and potentially contribute to more severe outcomes. Similarly, higher SARS-CoV-2 viral titer in the upper airways likely supports more efficient transmission. Conversely, the possible significance of air temperature to upper airway viral growth suggests that prolonged delivery of heated air might represent a preventative measure and prophylactic treatment for coronavirus disease 2019.

The copper deposition on the platinum and palladium nanoelectrode has been studied using cyclic voltammetry. The use of nanoelectrode platinum and palladium are defined in the study of heavy metals. The noble nanoelectrode of metal has a typical silicone processing structure. In comparison to the nanoelectrodes, the geometry of the electrode series is complex and balanced. Nanoelectrodes of platinum are found effective in detecting heavy metal. There was regular analysis of the use of the sensors. The identification constraints down to the ng /L level was accomplished by refined electrode geometry and the stripping procedures. The process was used for the study of water sample determination. Another heavy metal ion attack voltammetric reaction was studied. The SEM picture clearly observed and characterized the nanoparticle electrode by X-ray diffraction and cyclic voltammetry.

Vimentin is an intermediate filament protein that plays key roles in integration of cytoskeletal functions, and therefore in basic cellular processes such as cell division and migration. Consequently, vimentin has complex implications in pathophysiology. Vimentin is required for a proper immune response, but it can also act as an autoantigen in autoimmune diseases or as a damage signal. Although vimentin is a predominantly cytoplasmic protein, it can also appear at extracellular locations, either in a secreted form or at the surface of numerous cell types, often in relation to cell activation, inflammation, injury or senescence. Cell surface targeting of vimentin appears to associate with the occurrence of certain posttranslational modifications, such as phosphorylation and/or oxidative damage. At the cell surface, vimentin can act as a receptor for bacterial and viral pathogens. Indeed, vimentin has been shown to play important roles in virus attachment and entry of severe acute respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus (SARS-CoV), dengue and encephalitis viruses, among others. Moreover, the presence of vimentin in specific virus-targeted cells and its induction by proinflammatory cytokines and tissue damage contribute to its implication in viral infection. Here, we recapitulate some of the pathophysiological implications of vimentin, including the involvement of cell surface vimentin in interaction with pathogens, with a special focus on its role as a cellular receptor or co-receptor for viruses. In addition, we provide a perspective on approaches to target vimentin, including antibodies or chemical agents that could modulate these interactions to potentially interfere with viral pathogenesis, which could be useful when multi-target antiviral strategies are needed .

We have presented a controllable and human-readable polynomial neural network (CR-PNN) that is the first human-readable neural network. One can imagine its influence on system identification. Subsequently, we developed a relation spectrum in a medical application, which is likely to stand alongside the Fourier spectrum. However, the system analysis methodology is incomplete in contrast to signal processing methodology. Here, we presented the system filters for the first time. In this paper, we used the simulation system to verify the availability of the system analysis methodology. The system analysis methodology showed great properties in system identification and filter. The contribution of this paper is the system analysis methodology: transform method (CR-PNN), relation spectrum, and system filter design.

We analyze the Covid-19 mortality scenario in India and compare it with those in other large-population regions such as Asia-excluding-China, Africa, European Union, South America, and USA. We compare existing fatality data and offer an interpretation for low fatality based on immunity due to endemic malaria and TB. We identify the hot climate in the past summer as a possible cause for low death count in southern-hemisphere countries without endemic malaria and TB. We also make India-specific observations for easing the lockdown and estimations for the time required to attain herd immunity. Whatever optimism we present should be viewed as a guarded optimism. There should not be room for complacency.

The evaluation was conducted to find out whether the stipulated objectives of the policy are being followed, and at the same time find out whether the envisioned results of implementing such policy system have been achieved so far. The evaluation was expected to provide an opportunity for mending shortfalls of the whole system that would affect its sustainability and usefulness.A total of 33 participants were interviewed in this study and came from the study area (Nkhotakota District Council Office). Purposive sampling was used to select the participants. All study respondents were purposively selected where respondents considered having relevant information and they were interviewed to obtain wide range of perspectives.Seven themes were identified; knowledge on policy, limited stakeholder involvement, poor HIV and AIDS programming, ethical issues, future perspective of the policy, Other Recurrent Transaction (ORT) allocation, and availability of HIV and AIDS Committee. On knowledge on policy, the sub-themes included; objectives well outlined, and poor updates on the policy. On limited stakeholder involvement, the sub-themes were; lack of ownership, ignorance of involvement, and not involved/limited involvement. On the Poor HIV and AIDS programming theme, sub-themes identified were; exclusion of activities in the District Implementation Plan (DIP) and lack of funds. There was one sub-theme on ethical issues and future perspective.We found that the Nkhotakota District Council HIV and AIDS at workplace policy is not functioning properly due to poor coordination and lack of funding. However, there are some positives identified such as existence of the coordinating committee and allocation of funds through ORT. Although the system has been functional for some years in well-established structures, lack of participation by some stakeholders, non-inclusion of HIV and AIDS activities in the DIPs underpin its sustainability

Geomathematics is extremely important in geosciences, particularly in the geology. The key for any geomathematical analysis is the definition of a typical model to be applied for further prognosis, either through deterministical or stochastical approaches. The selection of the appropriate procedure is presented in this paper. Two different geomathematical subfield datasets were used in subsurface geological mapping and palaeontology and different biostatistics applications, representing important geomathematical subfields in the Croatian geology. The different subsurface interpolation methods, tested, validated and recommended for application, were used to obtain the best possible outcome in reservoir modelling, in the cases with small datasets. Cross-validation may be selected as the main selection criteria, applied to the Croatian part of the Pannonian Basin System (abbr. CPBS). Recent advances in biostatistics applied in palaeontology and case studies from Croatia are also presented, where biometric studies are of significant importance in fossil biota. Data, methods and problems in geosciences is a vast subject, and address a wide spectrum of fundamental science. Because geology includes subsurface and surface geology, and very different datasets regarding variable and number of data, here are chosen two representative case study groups with original samples from Northern Croatia. Subsurface mapping has been presented on limited petrophysical datasets from the Northern Croatian, Miocene, hydrocarbon reservoirs. Biostatistics has been presented on very different samples, allowing to achieve paleoenvironmental reconstructions of size of relevant fossils, as dinosaurs or other species and their paleoenvironments. All examples highlight examples of the valuable application of geomathematical tools in geology. The results, cautiously validated and correlated with other, non-numerical (indicator, categorical) geological knowledge, are of enormous assistance in creating better geological models.

The current Covid-19 pandemic has hugely disrupted the delivery of routine and established medical care. Patients can develop a wide range of clinical signs and symptoms from a cough and fever to severe respiratory failure. There is an ongoing argument on a concise investigative pathway to ensure the safety of all healthcare workers. The stethoscope can help with any clinical respiratory assessment but the risk of cross infection is high. Computer tomography should not be routinely performed. There is a potential place for lung ultrasound but outcomes are not yet determined.

The recent outbreak of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a major threat to human health and the global economy. In addition to the development of vaccines there is an urgent need for preventive and therapeutic strategies towards severe COVID-19. Key to this would be a better understanding of the molecular mechanismsoiuuuu affected by SARS-COV-2. To address this, we performed a systems biology approach by integrating available RNA-seq datasets from post-mortem lung tissue of COVID-19 patients and cell culture models infected with SARS-COV-2, Respiratory Syncytial virus or influenza virus. We identified two gene-expression modules that are commonly regulated by the three viral diseases and one that is specific to COVID-19. All 3 gene-expression modules represent key inflammatory processes. We identified several proteins within these networks that can be targeted by FDA approved drugs. Key examples are TNF, NFkB, INTERLEUKIN-1 and ALOX5 signaling pathways. Our data also suggest that Vitamin D supplementation and a ketogenic diet should be further analyzed as preventive strategies. In conclusion, our data highlights the potential of transcriptomics to unravel the pathological processes related to COVID-19 and guide the initiation of clinical trials.

The world tsunami hazard map is developed to understand the pattern of occurrence of tsunami across the globe and for using this database for preparing effective evacuation plan and rescue operations. It has been developed by using Web GIS tools. HTML, CSS, Java Script, JQuery, IIS and Maps API are utilized to develop hazard map. These data can be even used by government authorities as well as by other nodal agencies.

Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is an infectious disease caused by a new virus which causes respiratory illness. Older adults and people who have previous chronic medical conditions are at higher risk for more serious complications from COVID-19.Hypovitaminosis D is attributed to the increased risk of lung injury and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) as well as diabetes, Cardiovascular event and associated comorbidities, which are the main causes of severe clinical problem in COVID-19 patients. Considering the protective role of vitamin D through modulating the innate and adaptive immune system as well as inhibition of Renin Angiotensin System (RAS), vitamin D supplementation might boost the immune system of COVID-19 patients and reduce severity of the disease in vitamin D deficient individuals.

We review aspects of the antibody response to SARS-CoV-2, the causative agent of the COVID- 19 pandemic. The topics we cover are relevant to immunotherapy with plasma from recovered patients and with monoclonal antibodies against the viral S-protein. The development of vaccines against SARS-CoV-2, an essential public health tool, will also be informed by an understanding of the antibody response in infected patients. Although virus-neutralizing antibodies are likely to protect, antibodies could potentially trigger immunopathogenic events in SARS-CoV-2-infected patients or enhance infection. An awareness of these possibilities may benefit clinicians and the developers of antibody-based therapies and vaccines.

Crop type and field boundary mapping enable cost-efficient crop management on the field scale and serve as the basis for yield forecasts. Our study uses a data set with crop types and corresponding field borders from the federal state of Bavaria, Germany, as documented by farmers from 2016 to 2018. The study classified corn, winter wheat, barley, sugar beet, potato, and rapeseed as the main crops grown in Upper Bavaria. Corresponding Sentinel-2 data sets include the normalised difference vegetation index (NDVI) and raw band data from 2016 to 2018 for each selected field. The influences of clouds, raw bands, and NDVI on crop type classification are analysed, and the classification algorithms, i.e., support vector machine (SVM) and random forest (RF), are compared. Field boundary detection and extraction are based on non-iterative clustering and a newly developed procedure based on Canny edge detection. The results emphasise the application of Sentinel’s raw bands (B1–B12) and RF, which outperforms SVM with an accuracy of up to 94%. Furthermore, we forecast data for an unknown year, which slightly reduces the classification accuracy. The results demonstrate the usefulness of the proof-of-concept and its readiness for use in real applications.

Italian, Spanish, French vs German, Austrian or Norwegian COVID-19 tracks? Antibiotics might have a partial impact on COVID-19 death rates in various countries. Our working hypotheses based on recent publications is that that antibiotics may be a major factor that negatively affects patients’ immune system during viral infections. We are all aware that there is no specific and effective medical treatment for COVID-19 so far. However, we know that our immune system is the only efficient weapon that fights against this syndrome right now. In fact, antibiotics are very often prescribed to prevent secondary infections following an antiviral immune response. Various antibiotic therapies have also been commonly applied to support COVID-19 treatments in China and Italy. Unfortunately, the frequent antibiotic off-site targets include mitochondria that are genetically and evolutionary closely linked to bacteria. Mitochondria are multifunctional organelles responsible for bioenergetics in nearly all our cells, acting as signaling hubs in antiviral and antibacterial immune responses. Several studies have demonstrated that mitochondria are vulnerable to antibacterial treatments, interrupting their physiology. Inhibition of these processes by antibiotics might render the immune system less capable of fighting acute COVID-19 viral infections. Some antibiotics, including those prescribed for COVID-19 in Wuhan, have been shown to inhibit the synthesis of mitochondrial DNA. The question is whether antibiotics support such a treatment or weaken patient immune responses in this case. This hypothesis should be evaluated based on comparative clinical data that seem to be unavailable at the moment. Possibly the COVID-19 risk group should be extended to all patients being treated with antibiotics, including those who finished antibiotic therapies days up to several months before SARS-CoV-2 infection. We therefore urge health service response groups to evaluate the impact of antibiotics on COVID-19 recovery vs death retrospective data. We would like to motivate international, national and local health authorities to share available clinical treatment data, discuss and optimize treatment strategies.

This study presents a new kinetic scheme for the mass yield prediction of waste lignocellulosic biomasses treated by Hydrothermal Carbonization (HTC). The proposed reactions are based on the decomposition, solubilization, and polymerization of each main fraction of the biomass: cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin. The ash content was assumed to be inert. The kinetic parameters have been obtained by non-linear adjustment using a data set with 220 experimental runs collected from the literature. The results indicate that the pre-exponential factors range was from 7.33 x10¹ to 1.412x10⁵ min^-1, and activation energies were between 33.75 y 225.3 kJ/mol. A good fit is achieved between the observed and predicted data with an R² of 0.81 and an RMSE of 7.7 %. The proposed scheme was validated with the experimental data obtained by the HTC of sawdust (Pinus radiata) and rapeseed (Brassica napus). The experiments were carried out at temperatures of 190, 220, and 250 ºC and reaction times of 0, 30, 60, 90, and 120 min. The predicted values showed an average error of 2.3 and 3.5 %, respectively. Therefore, the kinetic scheme is a useful tool in the conversion analysis of waste biomass treated by HTC.

In this paper, we provide alternative proofs to some results proposed in the article "New inequalities involving circular, inverse circular, hyperbolic, inverse hyperbolic and exponential functions" authored by Yogesh J. Bagul.

We specify basic definitions of the Chern-Simons current in cohomology theory, then we calculate its value by using a model of quantum machine learning, the so-called supersymmetric support Dirac machine. The supercurrent is generated from the coupling between three states of a quantum flux of modified Wilson loop of the Cooper pairs. We use Holo-Hilbert spectrum in frequency modulation to visualize the network as a coupling behavior of convolutional neuron network in superstatistical theory with the application to the theory of a superconductor. We also calculate the number of carbon atoms in the stable support spinor network structure of a graphene wormhole to produce a supercurrent of Cooper pairs as graviphoton states by using the Holo-Hilbert spectral analysis.

In this paper, we investigate the role of sanctions in the relationship between macroeconomic determinants and foreign direct investment inflows. We also investigate the moderating role of sanctions in FDI inflows into Iran. The empirical results reveal that macro determinants such as infrastructure, exchange rate, inflation rate, investment return, and governance have a long-run impact on FDI inflows in Iran. Our findings also show that GDP growth rate and trade openness have no significant effect on FDI. Our results indicate that sanctions do not have a significant moderating role in the relationship between macroeconomic factors and foreign direct investment. Surprisingly, international sanctions have a positive relationship with FDI inflows in Iran. Furthermore, sanction has a positive impact on the inflation rate and exchange rate in Iran. Finally, our findings show that sanctions have had a significant impact on Iran's economic growth in recent years due to increasing the severity level of sanctions.

Background: Lung cancer is one of the common causes of death worldwide. Although the incidence rate of lung cancer in Western countries is decreasing, it presents a growing trend in developed countries. Since there is no accurate enough information about the epidemiological and Histopathologic features of lung cancer in central Iran, Isfahan, we were motivated to conduct this research. Materials and Methods: This was a descriptive, cross-sectional study carried out in central Iran, Isfahan. All demographic, histopathological and clinical data of the lung cancer patients registered in MACSA, a referral charity-based cancer center in central Iran, was analyzed within 2012-2018 using SPSS v.22 software. Results: Altogether 260 patients with lung cancer were included in this study from 6127 cancer patients registered within 2012-2018 (4.2%). Out of them, 66.2% were men, and 18.8 % of the patients were alive at the time of the study. The mean age of the patients at diagnosis was 61.56 (SD=14.11, range: 9-93). Altogether, 63.1% of patients had metastasis of whom 57.6% were in stage IV at diagnosis. The Frequency of different types of lung cancer was 36.9% adenocarcinomas, 14.2% squamous cell carcinoma, 9.6% bronchogenic carcinoma and 8.1% small cell lung cancer, respectively. Altogether, 128 cases were smokers with an average 35.45 ± 14 pack- years. Only in 36.2% of the patients, the diagnostic and therapeutic biomarkers had been checked, and CK7 was positive in 88.9% of the cases in which the biomarker had been checked. Conclusion: Despite to similar Iranian studies, the most common histopathologic type of lung cancer among the patients was adenocarcinoma that it may be attributed to the lower consumption of smoking in our population and their different genetic context. Molecular biomarkers had been checked in a small portion of the patients. More education of the clinicians along with the development of cancer molecular testing may lead to promote the personalized-based approach.